1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for storing and retrieving electronic identifiers, and, more particularly, an interactive system for creating and maintaining a searchable database of old and new electronic identifiers, such as e-mail addresses.
2. Background of the Invention
Most Internet users have multiple e-mail addresses (e.g. austin@freshaddress.com). These electronic addresses are unique ways of reaching an individual, but are not necessarily permanent throughout one""s life. Electronic addresses change for many reasons, including when the individual moves, changes employers, or selects a different Internet service provider. Instead of changing or letting an address lapse, some people will maintain multiple addresses. For example, someone may obtain an address through school, add a personal address, and obtain an address from work. Still others maintain multiple Internet service providers to mitigate access problems, and each ISP typically yields at least one e-mail address. The result is that a single individual or entity may accumulate many addresses over time.
When an individual changes his e-mail address, he must notify friends, relatives, and business associates of the new contact information. There are also numerous electronic services and businesses that need updating. Inevitably, not everyone is notified, and those who are not notified are left with an e-mail address that no longer functions or worksxe2x80x94a xe2x80x9cdeadxe2x80x9d address. When e-mail is sent to a dead address the sender typically receives a message informing them that the message was undeliverable, but not providing a current e-mail address for the intended recipient. Other old addresses may not be dead, but rather out of favor with its owner such that e-mail should not be sent to that address.
The same problems exist for other electronic based identifiers. For example, such identifiers can include homepages having URLs with a unique second level domain name or a common second level domain name shared by many other individuals and companies through a commercial service such as Geocities. Other identifiers may include chat handles or nicknames within certain Internet service providers such as AOL.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an accessible electronic system for storing old and new electronic identifiers for searching and matching the new and old electronic identifiers of an entity.
It is a further object of the present invention to create a bridge from old to new e-mail addresses.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by having a searchable electronic database of old and new electronic identifiers in which the information in the database is entered and maintained by individual registrants of the system. The searchable database stores both old and new information in association with one another.